National Song Contest: Looking Back
National Song Contest: Looking Back is an annual television program produced and aired by New Cambria Television. It is a companion program to the New Cambria National Song Contest, and is broadcast live each year on the evening following the Grand Final. The program invites all the finalists (and, on occasion, some non-qualifiers) to discuss their experiences and gauge their reactions to the results. Also, several companion awards are given out to contestants, the categories of which have changed over the years. The 2010 special will last 90-minutes. It was previously one hour (2004-2006) or two hours (2007-2009) long. 2004 The first edition of Looking Back was broadcast on Sunday, 5 December 2004, and was hosted by Darcy Hiller who also co-presented the contest with Travis Egan. Each of the ten finalists appeared on the program. Runner-up Gretchen Carlson commented that she had a dream the night before the final that she came in second place, and fourth-placed Hillary Williams stated that she accidentally bit her tongue while singing during the final. 2005 The second edition of Looking Back was broadcast on Sunday, 4 December 2005, from Television Centre in Arvant, and was hosted by Darcy Hiller. Each of the ten finalists appeared on the program. 2006 2007 2008 The fifth edition of Looking Back was broadcast on Sunday, 7 December 2008. Noah Kavanagh hosted the program and comedienne Amy Sedaris was also a special guest. All ten finalists appeared in the show. A short skit was performed during the announcement of the award for Best Dressed; Samantha Keller began a long, Acaedmy Award-type acceptance speech, and refused to yield the stage when Kavanagh asked her to stop, shouting "this is all I have!" This was particularly humourous considering that Keller came in last place in the Grand Final the night before. The staff of Spin magazine commended Keller for her good sportsmanship and graciousness in poking fun at her own result in the following week's issue. 2009 The sixth edition of Looking Back aired on Sunday, 13 December 2009. Noah Kavanagh hosted the event. Much of the two-hour show was spent discussing the behaviour of Jacqueline Clayson, who was heavily favoured by the jury but virtually ignored by the televoting public, and finished an unexpected 7th place despite being a pre-contest favourite. Clayson, who earlier in the day had lambasted the contest in an interview with a Newfoundland radio station, refused to take part in the Looking Back special, which Kavanagh tried to make light of by placing an empty "Clayson Chair" in the centre of the stage to represent the absent performer. Toward the end of the show, a YouTube video captured from a mobile phone was shown of Clayson storming out of the contestants' green room just after the final set of points were announced, which gave the victory to Jake Dunigan and not to her. After seeing the video, Kavanagh remarked, "Ooh, icy." A new companion award made its debut at the 2009 special: the Press Award, which is given to a finalist based on the votes of all accredited members of the press covering the event. The Best Dressed Award was not given out this year, because the contest's sponsorship agreement with Spin magazine was not renewed after the 2008 contest. This was the second year in which the winning song failed to receive any companion awards (the first was 2005). Companion Awards * Contestants' Choice: Each of the finalists votes for their favorite songs in the same manner as the juries. Contestants cannot vote for themselves. * Best Semi-Final Act: Jurors vote for the best song that was eliminated in any of the Semi-Finals or the Wild Card round. This award was not given out in 2006 or 2007. * Best Composition: Jurors vote for the song with the best music and lyrics. For this award, only audio recordings are used to determine the winner. * Best Performance: Jurors vote for the best stage performance. Vocals, dancing and camera direction are taken into account. * Press Award: Accredited members of the press covering the contest vote on their favourite finalist. * Best Dressed: Editors of Spin magazine voted for the best dressed performer in the final. Occasionally two awards would be given out, one for the best dressed male and female performers. This award was given out from 2004 to 2008, and replaced by the Press Award in 2009. Contestants' Choice Best Semi-Final Act Best Composition Best Performance Press Award Best Dressed (2004-2008) Category:New Cambria Category:Events